.\" generated with Ronn-NG/v0.10.1
.\" http://github.com/apjanke/ronn-ng/tree/0.10.1
.TH "BUNDLE\-INSTALL" "1" "September 2025" ""
.SH "NAME"
\fBbundle\-install\fR \- Install the dependencies specified in your Gemfile
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
\fBbundle install\fR [\-\-force] [\-\-full\-index] [\-\-gemfile=GEMFILE] [\-\-jobs=NUMBER] [\-\-local] [\-\-lockfile=LOCKFILE] [\-\-no\-cache] [\-\-no\-lock] [\-\-prefer\-local] [\-\-quiet] [\-\-retry=NUMBER] [\-\-standalone[=GROUP[ GROUP\|\.\|\.\|\.]]] [\-\-trust\-policy=TRUST\-POLICY] [\-\-target\-rbconfig=TARGET\-RBCONFIG]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
Install the gems specified in your Gemfile(5)\. If this is the first time you run bundle install (and a \fBGemfile\.lock\fR does not exist), Bundler will fetch all remote sources, resolve dependencies and install all needed gems\.
.P
If a \fBGemfile\.lock\fR does exist, and you have not updated your Gemfile(5), Bundler will fetch all remote sources, but use the dependencies specified in the \fBGemfile\.lock\fR instead of resolving dependencies\.
.P
If a \fBGemfile\.lock\fR does exist, and you have updated your Gemfile(5), Bundler will use the dependencies in the \fBGemfile\.lock\fR for all gems that you did not update, but will re\-resolve the dependencies of gems that you did update\. You can find more information about this update process below under \fICONSERVATIVE UPDATING\fR\.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.TP
\fB\-\-force\fR, \fB\-\-redownload\fR
Force reinstalling every gem, even if already installed\.
.TP
\fB\-\-full\-index\fR
Bundler will not call Rubygems' API endpoint (default) but download and cache a (currently big) index file of all gems\. Performance can be improved for large bundles that seldom change by enabling this option\.
.TP
\fB\-\-gemfile=GEMFILE\fR
The location of the Gemfile(5) which Bundler should use\. This defaults to a Gemfile(5) in the current working directory\. In general, Bundler will assume that the location of the Gemfile(5) is also the project's root and will try to find \fBGemfile\.lock\fR and \fBvendor/cache\fR relative to this location\.
.TP
\fB\-\-jobs=<number>\fR, \fB\-j=<number>\fR
The maximum number of parallel download and install jobs\. The default is the number of available processors\.
.TP
\fB\-\-local\fR
Do not attempt to connect to \fBrubygems\.org\fR\. Instead, Bundler will use the gems already present in Rubygems' cache or in \fBvendor/cache\fR\. Note that if an appropriate platform\-specific gem exists on \fBrubygems\.org\fR it will not be found\.
.TP
\fB\-\-lockfile=LOCKFILE\fR
The location of the lockfile which Bundler should use\. This defaults to the Gemfile location with \fB\.lock\fR appended\.
.TP
\fB\-\-prefer\-local\fR
Force using locally installed gems, or gems already present in Rubygems' cache or in \fBvendor/cache\fR, when resolving, even if newer versions are available remotely\. Only attempt to connect to \fBrubygems\.org\fR for gems that are not present locally\.
.TP
\fB\-\-no\-cache\fR
Do not update the cache in \fBvendor/cache\fR with the newly bundled gems\. This does not remove any gems in the cache but keeps the newly bundled gems from being cached during the install\.
.TP
\fB\-\-no\-lock\fR
Do not create a lockfile\. Useful if you want to install dependencies but not lock versions of gems\. Recommended for library development, and other situations where the code is expected to work with a range of dependency versions\.
.IP
This has the same effect as using \fBlockfile false\fR in the Gemfile\. See gemfile(5) for more information\.
.TP
\fB\-\-quiet\fR
Do not print progress information to the standard output\.
.TP
\fB\-\-retry=[<number>]\fR
Retry failed network or git requests for \fInumber\fR times\.
.TP
\fB\-\-standalone[=<list>]\fR
Makes a bundle that can work without depending on Rubygems or Bundler at runtime\. A space separated list of groups to install can be specified\. Bundler creates a directory named \fBbundle\fR and installs the bundle there\. It also generates a \fBbundle/bundler/setup\.rb\fR file to replace Bundler's own setup in the manner required\.
.TP
\fB\-\-trust\-policy=TRUST\-POLICY\fR
Apply the Rubygems security policy \fIpolicy\fR, where policy is one of \fBHighSecurity\fR, \fBMediumSecurity\fR, \fBLowSecurity\fR, \fBAlmostNoSecurity\fR, or \fBNoSecurity\fR\. For more details, please see the Rubygems signing documentation linked below in \fISEE ALSO\fR\.
.TP
\fB\-\-target\-rbconfig=TARGET\-RBCONFIG\fR
Path to rbconfig\.rb for the deployment target platform\.
.SH "DEPLOYMENT MODE"
Bundler's defaults are optimized for development\. To switch to defaults optimized for deployment and for CI, use the \fBdeployment\fR setting\. Do not activate deployment mode on development machines, as it will cause an error when the Gemfile(5) is modified\.
.IP "1." 4
A \fBGemfile\.lock\fR is required\.
.IP
To ensure that the same versions of the gems you developed with and tested with are also used in deployments, a \fBGemfile\.lock\fR is required\.
.IP
This is mainly to ensure that you remember to check your \fBGemfile\.lock\fR into version control\.
.IP "2." 4
The \fBGemfile\.lock\fR must be up to date
.IP
In development, you can modify your Gemfile(5) and re\-run \fBbundle install\fR to \fIconservatively update\fR your \fBGemfile\.lock\fR snapshot\.
.IP
In deployment, your \fBGemfile\.lock\fR should be up\-to\-date with changes made in your Gemfile(5)\.
.IP "3." 4
Gems are installed to \fBvendor/bundle\fR not your default system location
.IP
In development, it's convenient to share the gems used in your application with other applications and other scripts that run on the system\.
.IP
In deployment, isolation is a more important default\. In addition, the user deploying the application may not have permission to install gems to the system, or the web server may not have permission to read them\.
.IP
As a result, when \fBdeployment\fR is configured, \fBbundle install\fR installs gems to the \fBvendor/bundle\fR directory in the application\. This may be overridden using the \fBpath\fR setting\.
.IP "" 0
.SH "INSTALLING GROUPS"
By default, \fBbundle install\fR will install all gems in all groups in your Gemfile(5), except those declared for a different platform\.
.P
However, you can explicitly tell Bundler to skip installing certain groups with the \fBwithout\fR setting\. This setting takes a space\-separated list of groups\.
.P
While the \fBwithout\fR setting will skip \fIinstalling\fR the gems in the specified groups, \fBbundle install\fR will still \fIdownload\fR those gems and use them to resolve the dependencies of every gem in your Gemfile(5)\.
.P
This is so that installing a different set of groups on another machine (such as a production server) will not change the gems and versions that you have already developed and tested against\.
.P
\fBBundler offers a rock\-solid guarantee that the third\-party code you are running in development and testing is also the third\-party code you are running in production\. You can choose to exclude some of that code in different environments, but you will never be caught flat\-footed by different versions of third\-party code being used in different environments\.\fR
.P
For a simple illustration, consider the following Gemfile(5):
.IP "" 4
.nf
source 'https://rubygems\.org'

gem 'sinatra'

group :production do
  gem 'rack\-perftools\-profiler'
end
.fi
.IP "" 0
.P
In this case, \fBsinatra\fR depends on any version of Rack (\fB>= 1\.0\fR), while \fBrack\-perftools\-profiler\fR depends on 1\.x (\fB~> 1\.0\fR)\.
.P
When you configure \fBbundle config without production\fR in development, we look at the dependencies of \fBrack\-perftools\-profiler\fR as well\. That way, you do not spend all your time developing against Rack 2\.0, using new APIs unavailable in Rack 1\.x, only to have Bundler switch to Rack 1\.2 when the \fBproduction\fR group \fIis\fR used\.
.P
This should not cause any problems in practice, because we do not attempt to \fBinstall\fR the gems in the excluded groups, and only evaluate as part of the dependency resolution process\.
.P
This also means that you cannot include different versions of the same gem in different groups, because doing so would result in different sets of dependencies used in development and production\. Because of the vagaries of the dependency resolution process, this usually affects more than the gems you list in your Gemfile(5), and can (surprisingly) radically change the gems you are using\.
.SH "THE GEMFILE\.LOCK"
When you run \fBbundle install\fR, Bundler will persist the full names and versions of all gems that you used (including dependencies of the gems specified in the Gemfile(5)) into a file called \fBGemfile\.lock\fR\.
.P
Bundler uses this file in all subsequent calls to \fBbundle install\fR, which guarantees that you always use the same exact code, even as your application moves across machines\.
.P
Because of the way dependency resolution works, even a seemingly small change (for instance, an update to a point\-release of a dependency of a gem in your Gemfile(5)) can result in radically different gems being needed to satisfy all dependencies\.
.P
As a result, you \fBSHOULD\fR check your \fBGemfile\.lock\fR into version control, in both applications and gems\. If you do not, every machine that checks out your repository (including your production server) will resolve all dependencies again, which will result in different versions of third\-party code being used if \fBany\fR of the gems in the Gemfile(5) or any of their dependencies have been updated\.
.P
When Bundler first shipped, the \fBGemfile\.lock\fR was included in the \fB\.gitignore\fR file included with generated gems\. Over time, however, it became clear that this practice forces the pain of broken dependencies onto new contributors, while leaving existing contributors potentially unaware of the problem\. Since \fBbundle install\fR is usually the first step towards a contribution, the pain of broken dependencies would discourage new contributors from contributing\. As a result, we have revised our guidance for gem authors to now recommend checking in the lock for gems\.
.SH "CONSERVATIVE UPDATING"
When you make a change to the Gemfile(5) and then run \fBbundle install\fR, Bundler will update only the gems that you modified\.
.P
In other words, if a gem that you \fBdid not modify\fR worked before you called \fBbundle install\fR, it will continue to use the exact same versions of all dependencies as it used before the update\.
.P
Let's take a look at an example\. Here's your original Gemfile(5):
.IP "" 4
.nf
source 'https://rubygems\.org'

gem 'actionpack', '2\.3\.8'
gem 'activemerchant'
.fi
.IP "" 0
.P
In this case, both \fBactionpack\fR and \fBactivemerchant\fR depend on \fBactivesupport\fR\. The \fBactionpack\fR gem depends on \fBactivesupport 2\.3\.8\fR and \fBrack ~> 1\.1\.0\fR, while the \fBactivemerchant\fR gem depends on \fBactivesupport >= 2\.3\.2\fR, \fBbraintree >= 2\.0\.0\fR, and \fBbuilder >= 2\.0\.0\fR\.
.P
When the dependencies are first resolved, Bundler will select \fBactivesupport 2\.3\.8\fR, which satisfies the requirements of both gems in your Gemfile(5)\.
.P
Next, you modify your Gemfile(5) to:
.IP "" 4
.nf
source 'https://rubygems\.org'

gem 'actionpack', '3\.0\.0\.rc'
gem 'activemerchant'
.fi
.IP "" 0
.P
The \fBactionpack 3\.0\.0\.rc\fR gem has a number of new dependencies, and updates the \fBactivesupport\fR dependency to \fB= 3\.0\.0\.rc\fR and the \fBrack\fR dependency to \fB~> 1\.2\.1\fR\.
.P
When you run \fBbundle install\fR, Bundler notices that you changed the \fBactionpack\fR gem, but not the \fBactivemerchant\fR gem\. It evaluates the gems currently being used to satisfy its requirements:
.TP
\fBactivesupport 2\.3\.8\fR
also used to satisfy a dependency in \fBactivemerchant\fR, which is not being updated
.TP
\fBrack ~> 1\.1\.0\fR
not currently being used to satisfy another dependency
.P
Because you did not explicitly ask to update \fBactivemerchant\fR, you would not expect it to suddenly stop working after updating \fBactionpack\fR\. However, satisfying the new \fBactivesupport 3\.0\.0\.rc\fR dependency of actionpack requires updating one of its dependencies\.
.P
Even though \fBactivemerchant\fR declares a very loose dependency that theoretically matches \fBactivesupport 3\.0\.0\.rc\fR, Bundler treats gems in your Gemfile(5) that have not changed as an atomic unit together with their dependencies\. In this case, the \fBactivemerchant\fR dependency is treated as \fBactivemerchant 1\.7\.1 + activesupport 2\.3\.8\fR, so \fBbundle install\fR will report that it cannot update \fBactionpack\fR\.
.P
To explicitly update \fBactionpack\fR, including its dependencies which other gems in the Gemfile(5) still depend on, run \fBbundle update actionpack\fR (see \fBbundle update(1)\fR)\.
.P
\fBSummary\fR: In general, after making a change to the Gemfile(5) , you should first try to run \fBbundle install\fR, which will guarantee that no other gem in the Gemfile(5) is impacted by the change\. If that does not work, run bundle update(1) \fIbundle\-update\.1\.html\fR\.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.IP "\(bu" 4
Gem install docs \fIhttps://guides\.rubygems\.org/rubygems\-basics/#installing\-gems\fR
.IP "\(bu" 4
Rubygems signing docs \fIhttps://guides\.rubygems\.org/security/\fR
.IP "" 0

